Lightning round week: Should the Astros move Paredes to SS?

It’s lightning round week on the blog. Every day this week, we’ll pose a new topic, question or discussion point.

Today, the left side of the infield.

Assuming the Astros don’t make a trade or sign another free agent, the team will have some decisions to make regarding shortstop and third base. Here’s the scenario.

Based on comments from Ed Wade, it’s unlikely that Clint Barmes will return since he’s a free agent and will be cost prohibitive for a team with a likely $50-$60 million budget.

While Houston has considered moving Jimmy Paredes to shortstop, that would also raise other questions for the club. Mainly, who plays third? With no other players in the immediate pipeline, the options are limited.

Essentially, you can choose your poison.

The first option is to leave Paredes at third base and plug in Angel Sanchez, who would be the heir apparent and is listed as next up on the Astros’ depth chart. If not Sanchez, the Astros could slot in Matt Downs or could rush Jonathan Villar from AA Corpus Christi.

Option #2 would be to move Paredes to a new position — at least in the majors — which would then hand Chris Johnson the third base job again.

Paredes has played 39 games at SS in the minors, committing 20 errors in the process. That type of play wouldn’t bode well with an error prone CJ next door. And it’s worth noting that Paredes is splitting time between second and third during his fall ball stint.

All of this speculation may be a moot point if Paredes ends up as a flash in the pan or starts the season at AAA Oklahoma City as the result of a poor spring.

Indeed, there will be plenty of options for Wade to choose from over the next few weeks, including six-year minor league free agents, non tenders or trade possibilities. And, of course, there’s the outside shot at a Barmes return.

So what say ye in today’s lightning round? Should the Astros give Paredes a shot at SS or should they leave well-enough alone, search for another solution with Sanchez as the safety net?